TAIPEI – Taiwan on March 23 called for the swift return of one of its military officers who was rescued by the Chinese authorities after losing contact during a fishing vacation.
Two men from Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen island were found on March 18 by the coast guard of China’s Fujian province after the engine of their boat failed.
The Chinese authorities said one of the anglers, surnamed Hu, was an active member of Taiwan’s military, accusing him of intentionally concealing his identity.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed on March 23 that Mr Hu was part of Kinmen Garrison Brigade.
“(He) went fishing during his vacation and lost contact due to heavy fog. He contacted his family and service unit that he was rescued by the Chinese coast guard and is safe,” Kinmen’s Defense Command said in a statement.
It added that they were cooperating with other agencies and hoped “for the safe return of its personnel to Kinmen as soon as possible on humanitarian grounds”.
Kinmen Defense Command also said it will tell soldiers “to refrain from participating in various risky activities during their vacation”.
The other man in the fishing boat, surnamed Wu, was repatriated to Kinmen by Taiwan’s coast guard on March 23.
According to video footage shared by Kinmen lawmaker Chen Yu-jen – who was at the dock – Mr Wu was greeted by his tearful mother with a hug when he stepped off the boat.
Mr Hu’s mother told reporters that she hoped China would allow family members to visit him.
“Our hearts are filled with anxiety when we can’t see him in person, although my son has sent a message saying he is safe,” she said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office – a mainland body tasked with handling cross-strait relations – had told Chinese state news agency Xinhua that Mr Hu needed to be held “to further verify and understand the situation”.
China regards self-governing Taiwan as its territory to be reunified with it. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
This incident comes in the wake of an ongoing row between Taipei and Beijing over a fatal boat incident in February 2024.
A Chinese speedboat carrying four people capsized on Feb 14 near Kinmen while Taiwan’s coast guard was pursuing it, leaving two dead.
The coast guard had defended its actions, saying the boat was within “prohibited waters” and was zigzagging before it capsized, but Beijing has accused Taipei of “hiding the truth” about the incident.
Since then, China has said it would step up patrols around Kinmen – a territory administered by Taipei but located just 5km from the mainland city of Xiamen. AFP
